A STREET artist whose previous works include social media street signs, a roll of toilet paper and colourful gnomes, has unveiled his latest work in Oxford.
The anonymous artist, who goes by the name Athirty4, has put up a lifebuoy in the city centre, to highlight the cost of living crisis.
The latest art piece, in Catte Street, is a life ring with a sign, captioned: “If you are drowning in the cost of living crisis, the Government would like to offer you this lifebuoy ring to help you keep your head above the water.
“Note: you must provide your own screwdriver to remove the lifebuoy ring from its location.”
The artist told the Oxford Mail: “I created my piece having read and heard personal stories about the cost of living crisis.
“It’s a subject that is going to unquestionably affect millions of people, especially those who are the worst off – financially speaking – in our society.
“My artwork is a piece that I think many people will connect with, should they see it in the flesh, or viewing the images via social media.
“If my lifebuoy ring artwork adds to the conversation in a constructive way, then it will have been worth doing.
“But, as with most of my artworks, it’s always a roll of a dice in terms of how people will perceive them. But that’s what makes being an artist exciting.”
The mystery artist added fantasy locations such as Gotham City, Middle-earth and Narnia, to road signs in Didcot, back in 2018.
Later that year, the artist created street signs such as Facebook Row, Hashtag Walk, LOL Alley and WTF Lane, in Oxford.
The signs were promptly removed with Oxford City Council claiming they made the city ‘harder to navigate’.
An abandoned washing machine, intended to spark a discussion on fly-tipping, was then removed from Littlemore underpass by the city council.
In December 2019, the artist – a former milkman – delivered misshapen plaster of Paris milk bottles across Oxfordshire, with each bottle including a card with a ‘message of hope’ that no matter the outcome of Brexit, the nation should be united.
With panic buying sweeping the country prior to the first coronavirus lockdown in March 2020, Athirty4 put up a roll of toilet paper outside Boots in Cornmarket Street, with the caption ‘Roll With the Herd’.
In May of last year, colourful gnomes popped up in East Oxford front gardens with a message to stop damaging the environment, while earlier this year, wooden bins filled with plaster of Paris litter appeared, in a statement about litter pollution.
Read more from this author
This story was written by Liam Rice, he joined the team in 2019 as a multimedia reporter.
Liam covers politics, travel and transport. He occasionally covers Oxford United.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Liam.rice@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter @OxMailLiamRice
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